Multiple cable clamp



Nov. 2, 1965 F. BENEDUCE MULTIPLE CABLE CLAMP 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 9, 1964 iNVENTOR FRED BENEDUCE ,5 ATTORN Y 1965 F. BENEDUCE MULTIPLE CABLE CLAMP 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 9, 1964 26 INVENTOR FRED BENEDUCE ATTORN United States Patent Ofi ice 3,214,812 MULTIPLE CABLE CLAMP F red Eeneduce, Tiffany St., North Providence, RI. Filed Apr. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 358,554 1 Saint. (Cl. 24-125) My present invention relates to cable securing devices and more particularly to a novel construction of a multiple cable clamp.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a means of attaching a plurality of ropes or cables to a lifting hook.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable means of adjusting a plurality of ropes or cables to be hooked on to a lifting hook.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a means for clamping a multiplicity of cables to a single device which can be attached to a lifting hook.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a multiple cable construction which permits easy adjustment of the cable and reduces the strain on the cables.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a multiple cable clamp which is simple in construction and easy and economical to manufacture and assemble.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view my invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and more particularly defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a device embodying my present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view thereof partly in section taken on line 22 on FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a section taken on line 33 on FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing another form of my invention.

FlG. 5 is a section taken on line 55 on PEG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a section taken on line 6 on FIG. 4.

It has been known in the art that a cable or rope can be attached to a hook, wrecking ball, or drag line by utilizing a wedge shaped clamp construction. In such construction a wedge shaped block is arranged to be embraced by a loop in a cable and slipped into a member having converging walls which embrace the block and the loop of the cable to lock the cable by a wedging action. The present invention is designed to provide a novel version of such wedge clamping means applied to a lifting device. When heavy beams are being lifted in construction work, such as steel beams, it is customary to provide cable lengths having a hook at one end and a built in eyelet at the other end. These eyelets are formed by turning the cable into a loop and splicing or tieing the end of the cable back to the cable body to form an eyelet opening. in some instances the cable is swung around an actual steel insert forming a grommet for the eyelet. However, in any case, the eyelet is a permanent portion of the steel cable. The cables are therefore provided in fixed lengths to handle for example a long steel beam. The eyelet ends of two cables are slipped over the hook on the crane and the other ends of the cables, which are provided with hooks, are hooked into one at each end of the beam for lifting purposes. If one of these cables become frayed or breaks it is impossible to repair the eyelet. It is therefore necessary to then supply another cable. If the beams are in different lengths some much longer than others, then the construction site must be prepared with different lengths of cables. In some cases the objects to be lifted are more in the form of sheets of rectangular construction or even of odd shapes having a 3,214,812 Patented Nov. 2, 1965 large area. In such cases four cables may be provided having eyelets which hook into the hook of the crane and having hooked ends which are hooked at the four corners of the sheet. The present invention is designed to eliminate these difiiculties by providing an eye member designed to be engaged by the crane hook and which is equipped with a plurality of clamping members so that it will receive the free end of a cable, the length of which can be quickly adjusted at the point of use.

Referring more in details to the drawings illustrating my invention, FIG. 1 illustrates the use of a device having clamping elements for two cables. These cables must still be equipped with a hook at one end for engaging the article to be lifted. However, the opposite end with the built in eyelet has been eliminated and the cable is just a free running cable which can be clamped into the device of the present invention at any desired length. Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the clamping element 19 is preferably cast from steel in a single integral piece. The upper end is in the form of an eye 11 which is engageable by the hook 12. Below the eye 11 the clamping element is provided with integral socket portions 13 and 14 formed on each side of the central plane in the axis of the eye 11. Viewing FIG. 1 it will be noted that each socket portion 13 and 14 is angularly formed with the plane of the member 10, in an angle of approximately 15 degrees with the upper end of each portion close to the body portion of the loop 11 and the bottom end outwardly directed.

Each portion 13 and 14- forms an open ended socket and comprises a tapered slot 15 extending vertically within the axis of each portion 13 and 14 so that each slot is also at an angle to the plane of the member 10. The slots 15 are open at their upper ends and taper downwardly to a narrow end 16 as shown in FIG. 2. The opposite end walls of each slot 15 are provided with grooves 17 adapted to embrace a portion of the circumference of a cable inserted into the slot.

I now provide a wedge block 18 for each slot 15. Each wedge block 18 is semicircular at its large end 19 and terminates at a straight bottom end 20. The tapered sides of the block 18 are aproximately at the same angle and parallel to the sides of the slots 15 as shown in FIG. 2. The edges of the wedge blocks 18 are also provided with grooves 21 similar to the grooves 17 in the walls of the slot and positioned complementary to them.

In use, a cable 22 is formed into a loop at its free end and the loop is swung around the groove of one of the wedge members 18 as shown in FIG. 2. The cable 22 and its wedge 18 is now pulled into the slot 15 with the cable sliding within the slot grooves 17 as shown in FIG. 3. As the wedge and cable reach the bottom or narrow restricted end is of the slot they become wedged in position so that the greater the pull the more holding power at this stage. Now a second cable 23 is similarly wedged into the portion 14 as shown in FIG. 1. The cables 22 and 23 are then extended in the position shown and the ends not shown are hooked into the ends of a beam or other material being lifted. By positioning the slots at an angle, the frictional wear which may result at the bend of the cable is eliminated or cut down to a minimum. It the slots were positioned vertically there would be too sharp a bend in the cable causing a fraying action.

To loosen the cable it is merely necessary to strike the lower end of the wedge with a sharp blow to move it upwardly in the slots 15 and this will cause both the cable and the wedge to be loosened. It is also obvious that in order to lengthen or shorten the cable it is merely necessary to move more or less of the cable around the wedge section. With this construction, an elongated cable may be employed which can be shortened at the wedge for shorter lengths and elongated at longer lengths without regard to a fixed eyelet or loop. Furthermore, the clamping device 110 permits both cables to be simultaneously grasped by the crane book 12 rather than inidvidual cables. The clamping device is simple in construction and can be readily cast from steel, iron or other desired material. While I refer to a steel rope or cable, it is obvious that the device can also be used with ordinary rope or any other type of material.

In the form illustrated in FIGS. 4, and 6, a device is shown in which four cables can be clamped at the same time, two on each side Of the clamping device. In this form, the clamping device 24 is provided with the central eye portion 25 which is used to lift by means of the crane hook. However, in this form the clamp 24 is elongated so that on each side portion 26 and 27 a pair of clamping members are provided in side by side relation as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. Each side is provided with a pair of tapered slots 28 with grooved end walls 29. The wedge members 30 are identical to the Wedge members 18 in the first form. However, here there are a pair of wedge members on each side making a total of four wedge members. This permits as many as four cables to be clamped to the ring 25. Of course it is not necessary to use all four clamping portions and if required two or three cables can be ciamped to the ring 25. In view of the added weight, the ring 25 must be built much stronger and heavier than the one shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. However, each clamping section acts the same way as the clamping section shown in the first form.

The type of construction shown Where a multiple of wedges can be used on a single ring permits the cables to be lengthened or shortened to handle irregular pieces of material. This is a much easier and quicker operation than trying to find the correct length of preformed cable with the preformed eyelet. It is contemplated further, that the wedge members be standardized so that the construction company can have a supply of these at hand adapted to fit either the double or the quadruple type of clamping device. In FIGS. 2 and 4, the wedge members 18 and 30 are illustrated as riding rather high in the respective slots. This is due to the diameter of the respective cables illustrated. If the cables vary in diameter, which they sometimes do, it will merely mean that the wedges will slide further down within the slots to handle a cable with lesser diameter. However, because of the tapered sides, the clamp will never release regardless of the diameter of the cable involved.

In each case, the angle of the clamp and its axis at an angle to the main plane greatly reduces the chafing which the cable may get when it is spread out to handle material. The device presents no great casting problem and can be economically produced. Other advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

A multiple cable clamp comprising a block, an integral eye portion at the upper end of said block, said block having a pair of adjacent flat slots on each side of the central vertical plane of said block, said eye lying in said plane of said block, the planes of each pair of slots being angularly disposed to said central vertical plane of said block with the lower ends of said slots being furthest from said central vertical plane, the narrow side walls of each slot tapering downwardly toward each other, and a wedge adapted to fit into each slot, each wedge comprising a fiat plate-like member having a rounded top and side edges tapering downwardly toward each other to wedge a cable between said tapered side edges and said tapered narrow side walls of each of said slots.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,090,377 3/14 Blackburn 24-136 1,380,800 6/21 Haworth 24-136 1,639,236 8/27 Sunderland 24-126 1,850,896 3/32 Roe 24-126 2,946,619 7/60 Wahl 24-126 X 3,048,907 8/62 Harvey' 24-122.6 3,148,427 9/64 Holfstrom 24-126 X FOREIGN PATENTS 775,474 12/34 France. 999,585 2/52 France.

15,523 11/84 Great Britain. 288,768 9/31 Italy.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

BERNARD A. GELAK, Examiner. 

